


Confessions

by kinghairington



Series: Steve Harrington x Reader/OC drabbles and one shots [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-28
Updated: 2017-12-28
Packaged: 2019-02-22 21:44:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13175817
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinghairington/pseuds/kinghairington
Summary: They’re sitting in Steve’s car about to embark on a demo-dog hunt and she’s shaking. This is the most dangerous thing she’s ever done. And Steve is quieter than he’s been since they’ve known each other.This certainly isn’t what she expected when she came home for winter break.





	Confessions

They’re sitting in Steve’s car about to embark on a demo-dog hunt and she’s shaking. This is the most dangerous thing she’s ever done. And Steve is quieter than he’s been since they’ve known each other. **  
**

This certainly isn’t what she expected when she came home for winter break.

Steve hadn’t wanted her to come, but she insisted. It was either them or the kids, who were finally starting to get back to normal now that it had been a couple of years without incident, and she and Steve are nothing if not selfless.

But the tension in his car is so thick that she does the only thing she can think of, and leans forward to turn on the radio. As the words of “The Final Countdown” hit her ears, she lets out a humorless laugh and peeks over at Steve. His hands are gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his fingers are turning white. She hates seeing him like this.

Reaching forward, she places a hand gently on his. He practically jumps at the contact.

“Wha-” He starts and looks over at her, letting out a breath. It must be then that he notices the song because he reacts the same way she did, a dry laugh escaping his lips. “That is so messed up.”

She nods. Her hand is still over his, but he doesn’t pull away, he just loosens his fingers from the steering wheel.

The music continues, and now she lets out a real laugh, shocking both of them with the sound and the fact that she’s laughing before going to basically sacrifice herself. She laughs so hard that tears are streaming down her face. She laughs for two minutes before the tears become real.  

Steve seems to notice the change immediately.

“Hey.” His voice is soft and that just makes her cry harder. He moves quickly to turn down the radio, and she wipes her eyes hastily.

“Are we going to die?” She asks. It’s the dumbest question, she knows it, but she’s doubting her ability to take down these things. Sure, they have weapons, but they don’t have psychic abilities like Jane. They’re two semi-normal young adults. Steve just became a deputy at the Hawkins Police Department. She isn’t even 20 yet.

And, worst of all, she hasn’t told him that she loves him.

His silence is the worst answer he could give.

For a long moment, she focuses on getting her breathing under control before turning in the seat so she’s better able to see him.

“I don’t want to lose you,” she says slowly, feeling out every word as it passes her lips. “What will I do if something happens to you?”

They’ve been friends for a few years, but Steve has always been the more emotional one in the friendship. He’s much more open than she is, telling her that he misses her and can’t wait for her to come back almost every time they talk on the phone while she’s away at school, but she’s the “yeah, me too” type. It’s obvious by the way his eyes flicker from defeat to hope that her words have shocked him.

“You’re not gonna lose me,” he says. It’s like her words have rekindled the confidence he had going into this. “We’re doing this together, and we can do anything together.” For a second, he lifts his eyebrows playfully and she cracks a smile.

This time he’s the one to take her hand in his and lifts the armrests up so he can move even closer.

“I’m not going anywhere, and neither are you.” She can’t be sure that he believes those words, but they do help her feel a little less anxious about the situation.

With the armrests out of the way, she scoots closer to the gear shift and squeezes his hand. It’s as close as they’re going to get and right now that’s enough.

His thumb is rubbing her hand and it’s so relaxing that she leans forward, pressing her forehead against his shoulder.

“I love you,” she murmurs into his sweater. Steve’s intake of breath is heard and felt. Then his hand is moving away from hers and she begins to panic, worried that she said the wrong thing, but then she feels that hand going to the back of her head. He combs his fingers through her hair and she pulls her head back to look up at him.

His eyes are on her face and the smile on his face is so beautiful. She looks back down.

“Don’t do that,” he whispers. She pushes herself to sit up a little more, but his hand remains in her hair. It feels too nice to pull away completely. “You have to know.”

“Know what?” She asks, furrowing her brow. There’s still a smile on his face, but he’s looking at her pointedly and, like that, she realizes what he’s trying to say.

“I love you!”

He loves her, too. He actually loves her.

“Oh. No, I didn’t know.” She giggles softly and his smile grows again.

“I’ve been dropping hints for like a year.” He shakes his head in disbelief. “I even said it once.”

“No, you didn’t. When?”

“When you fell asleep while we were on the phone.”

He starts to blush then and she laughs softly.

“I didn’t know, really,” she says and then remembers where they are and what they’re about to do. Thankfully the song has changed to one that doesn’t make her want to rip out his entire stereo system and beat it with his baseball bat. “But I’m glad to know now.”

The silence returns and, with his hand still in her hair, she moves forward to press her lips against his.

Neither of them can know what’s going to happen next, but knowing that they’re going to go in together does make her feel better about it all. Like he said, they can do anything together, especially now. 


End file.
